While the rebellion led by Wagner Group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been quelled, the crisis still poses a significant threat to stability in Russia. Gas traders are closely monitoring any signs of further instability that could impact gas production and exports from the country. The turmoil in Russia is also driven by the high volatility in the European gas market since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Gas prices have experienced sharp fluctuations this month due to ongoing production issues in Norway and plans to close a gas field in the Netherlands. The reduction in Russian gas supplies to Europe has made some countries, including Austria and Slovakia, reliant on deliveries through Ukraine.
Tom Marczak-Manser, Head of Gas Analytics at ICIS in London, noted that the geopolitical risk in Russia is now significantly higher than before the weekend. Uncertainty surrounding the developments in Russia in the coming weeks, rather than Ukraine, is likely to influence the markets.
It is worth mentioning that the oil and gold markets exhibited a relatively calm reaction on Monday to the geopolitical upheavals that occurred over the weekend.
